State Revenues Post Another Strong Year

By Jeff Amy/Associated Press
JACKSON – Mississippi tax collections continued to grow strongly in the just-concluded budget year, posting another year of 5 percent growth.
State Department of Revenue figures show general fund tax receipts grew to a record $5.25 billion in the 2014 budget year, which ended Monday.
Lawmakers had raised expectations in March, but revenue kept growing even after that, ending up at least $32 million above the revised number according to preliminary numbers.
That extra money means that the state will likely be able to hand out $32 million in aid for local roads and bridges that House members fought for on the 2014 Legislature’s closing night. The additional aid depended on revenues exceeding lawmakers’ March estimate.
The strong budget year also filled Mississippi’s rainy day fund to its $409 million legal limit.